.png?width=1500&height=398&name=CO_Corporate%20Logo%202021_4C_HOR_FNL-1%20(1).png)
Uncertainty Is Real. Opportunity Is Too.
The headlines say one thing. The data says something more nuanced. Here's what mid-market CEOs should actually be paying attention to right now. This two-part series from Chief Outsiders Founder & CEO Art Saxby explores what the data actually shows about CEO confidence, why this moment is different from past disruptions, and where mid-market companies are finding real growth opportunities right now.
The Difference between CEOs That Manage vs. Lead
Fri, May 3, 2013 — Today's blog is by guest blogger Kevin Dincher.
Cracking the Code of Organizational Change
Sun, Mar 10, 2013 — It was 1996 when John Kotter first published Leading Change and told us that 70% of all major change efforts by businesses fail. Nearly two decades later there is little evidence that any improvement has occurred, and this 70% failure rate has become axiomatic in business development and change management circles. Despite some individual successes, change remains difficult—and few companies manage change successfully. Organization change is a strategic imperative in today’s fast-paced business environment. Unfortunately, in the pursuit of change and trying to be the best, CEO’s and their executive team frequently chase after the latest and greatest idea. They lose focus and become mesmerized by all the advice available in print and online about why companies should change, what they should try to accomplish, and how they should do it. This proliferation of recommendations often leads to failure. Cracking the Code of Change
3 Ways to Drive Innovation – a CEO’s Perspective
Sun, Dec 16, 2012 — What makes some companies more successful than others? And what role does innovation play in this? I have always been fascinated by this topic, especially if the business is facing a turn-around situation.
Making our Mistakes Pay – Rather than Paying for our Mistakes
Sun, Dec 9, 2012 — No one likes making mistakes, but we all make our fair share of them. Humans are fallible, products and processes fail, and things slip through the cracks. Even the best-managed companies can go awry. Unfortunately, mistakes are not only inevitable; they can also be very costly. As a CEO you know that mistakes can cause operations costs to rise and productivity to falter—and most damaging of all, they frustrate our customers so that they start thinking about taking their business elsewhere. If we act quickly to fix our mistakes, however, we can make our mistake pay off. Losing and replacing customers is expensive. 91% of unhappy customers will not willingly do business with us again (Source: U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs). If they have the option, they will take their business elsewhere. When customers leave us, we need to expend resources getting new ones—and it generally costs a great deal more to get a new customer than to keep an existing one. Think of the difference in the time, effort and money that goes into marketing and sales to bring in new business compared with how little effort it takes to stay connected with a customer you already have. Losing and replacing customers is expensive.
The Accidental CEO and 5 Steps to Avoid Being the Reluctant CEO
Sun, Oct 28, 2012 — The Age Old Story You were content in life, working to contribute in operations, sales or product/technology development. You were a master, an expert in your field and were comfortable in your skin. Then the business was rocked when the leading family member became seriously ill; or your key partner suddenly seemed to go nuts — focusing on personal enrichment at the expense of the business; or simply sudden CEO succession was needed. It is an age-old story, a company needs a competent new leader — and through no fault or desire of your own, you find yourself playing the central role of the accidental or reluctant CEO. Over the years, I have met countless CEOs who never aspired to the position of business leader. Some took on the three letter title at startup but never really expected to be the leader of a significant, complex and demanding business. Others were suddenly thrust into the role to save the company or replace a previous CEO. Regardless of how it transpired, these CEOs did not aspire, position or groom themselves to lead a business, but they did step up when required.
5 Steps to Making the Right CRM Decision for Your Business
Wed, Oct 24, 2012 — Today's Guest Blog is by Barret Blank, President and CEO of BB2e
6 Reasons for Marketing Involvement In Supply Chain Management
Mon, Oct 22, 2012 — Customer Relationship Management The idea that a company can increase their competitiveness by focusing on how a company interacts with its customers is not new but little has been accomplished to this end across corporate America. In 1992 the Harvard Business Review published a ground-breaking paper called Staple Yourself to an Order. I came across this paper several years after it was written, while I was in an operations and logistics role and it captured my imagination. In essence what the paper was saying is that companies did not have an end-to-end process around customer relationship management. There were no processes in place to manage the customer at every interaction point in a consistent manner. There is a great chart in this document on page 6 entitled "Why Orders Fall through the Cracks" (see below) that really captures the issue and illustrates a typical organizational structure and what happens to a customer going through the entire process of placing an order.
The Importance of Authentic Service and Hospitality in Business
Tue, Oct 2, 2012 — What Makes Exceptional Service in Your Business? Recently I have been looking more closely at service — which factors contribute to great service in business and which elevate the quality of service to exceptional levels. I have considered both the objective, measurable components of service as well as the subjective — less tangible factors that focus on the specific relationship between those served and those serving. It's fairly simple for us to evaluate the concrete aspects of service. We, as marketers, preach and follow mantras of "what gets measured, gets done," and "if we can't measure it, we can't manage it." We rate and measure service quality with customer satisfaction research and Net Promoter scores. Measurement is, and will continue to be, a critical component of our understanding and responding to day-to-day performance in our businesses. In today's increasingly competitive market though, is evaluating only the easily measured variables sufficient? Is doing this alone enough to raise our customer service from great to exceptional? Does it ensure that our business performance is consistent with our vision, values and strategy?
7 Leadership Insights for CEOs from a U.S. Air Force Major General
Wed, Sep 26, 2012 — “Be the boss you wish you had” is the cornerstone of leadership wisdom that was imparted by US Air Force Major General Garrett Harencak to those attending a recent networking meeting by the Commerce & Industry Association of New Jersey (CIANJ). Major General Garrett Harencak, a highly decorated general, captivated the audience for an hour speaking on a subject he is passionate about: leadership. According to the General, leadership is something that you have to “practice every day”. Admittedly, it is not something that he has fully mastered, although I am sure he is quite accomplished. Leadership is something CEOs, small business owners, or anyone leading a team (in business or otherwise) can always strive to improve upon (including myself).